First blood - Blues miracle falls short

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It was a miracle comeback. But it just wasn't enough for the
Blues. In an electrifying match in the State of Origin opener, NSW
did the seemingly impossible to claw back to a 20-20 draw at full
time. But Queensland sealed victory with a try in extra time,
nailing the game 24-20.

NSW were down 13-0 at half-time - and then 19-0 soon into the
second half - but they fought back to secure the most unlikely
one-point lead in the final 10 minutes at Suncorp Stadium. They
scored four blazing tries to make it a 20-19 lead with less than 10
minutes to go. But Queensland came back with a field goal to
equalise at 20-all with less than two minutes left. So at
full-time, it was a draw and they went into extra time - for the
golden point. Queensland went for a field goal and missed.

But four minutes into extra time Matthew Bowen intercepted a
pass and ran 40 metres to score. First blood to the Maroons.